- The President of Rennes 2 University has confirmed that the start of classes in September will be postponed for two weeks.
- The university wishes to set up educational activities to welcome students in good conditions, in particular new graduates.
- Distance courses will be offered but this will vary greatly from one sector to another.
A year more than rowdy. Already disrupted by social movements at the beginning of the year, Rennes 2 University had to close its doors suddenly at the time of confinement, forcing teaching teams to offer their courses at a distance during the coronavirus epidemic. A month and a half before the start of the academic year which promises to be anything but simple, the president of the university Olivier David evokes the postponement of two weeks before the start of the courses and while trying to be reassuring for the students, especially the very young graduates.
You have decided to postpone the start of classes for two weeks. Why ?
We have chosen a tailor-made return to school. We cannot manage all the sectors in the same way. We have made the choice to make a particular effort on neo graduates. They have already finished their school year in delicate conditions. They will land in an environment they do not know. We would like to welcome them face-to-face, in smaller groups. September will be devoted to educational activities. We cannot afford to welcome 2,000 or 3,000 students on the same day as we did before. We want to spread out the back to school to have smaller groups.
Will you be able to provide all face-to-face courses?
We do not know yet. It all depends on the health constraints that will be imposed on us. People only want to come back to the university face to face. But we cannot welcome everyone at the same time. We will favor face-to-face for the first years. We also don't want to do everything at a distance, except in the event of reconfiguration. I asked the teaching teams to organize themselves. The distance is not possible everywhere. In Staps, in music or in language, it can be complicated, even impossible.
Will the capacity of the amphitheatres be affected?
It will depend on the constraints. If we are asked for a meter of lateral distance, we know how to do it and we will organize ourselves. We can have lecture halls with 100 or 150 students. But if we are asked for a meter around each student, we will divide our capacity by three or four. In the sectors in tension as in psycho, in Staps or in certain artistic fields, it will be difficult to cope. Half of our teams prefer distance, the other half face-to-face. This should allow us to juggle classrooms and lecture halls.
You postpone the start of classes but not the exam dates. How is it possible ?
We do not want to postpone the whole school year, in particular because the uncertainty is very high. Instead of doing a semester in twelve weeks, we will do it in ten weeks. I asked the teaching teams to provide the same content to the students.
What about foreign students?
We have chosen to maintain mobility in Europe and in the Shengen area, while recommending that students postpone their departure if they can. We will be able to welcome European students, provided that the borders are open. For exchanges outside Europe, everything has been suspended. International students who are already on site can be accommodated.
Did the high success rate in the bac cause an influx of candidates?
We still have supply chains in tension but we have no more requests than usual on this date. We currently count on around 21,000 students. In Brittany, the success rate for the bac has always been high. The difference is less than in some regions. There are also fields where we have places like languages, letters or geography. In Rennes, there is no reason to worry.
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